NEWS
Optimum Skills’ partnership and engagement manager Chelsea McGarrell and business development executive Graeme Donkin are passionate about the advantages partnerships bring for the people who matter most.
PASSION FOR PARTNERSHIPS
PICTURE: CHRIS BOOTH
Why Optimum Skills is keen to attract more partners
BY DAVE ROBSON
It already has some excellent partnerships – but training and apprenticeship provider Optimum Skills is keen for more because of how well they work.
Collaboration is key for Optimum Skills – whether it’ s with a charity seeking to get people into work or a business looking for a trusted source of employees.
From its base in Parsons Court off Welbury Way, Optimum already has around 20 partnerships with organisations in and around Aycliffe and the North-East in general.
But don’ t be surprised to see a lot more of Chelsea McGarrell and Graeme Donkin in the coming weeks and months, because they’ ll be actively going out and about, seeking more.
Chelsea, who is Optimum’ s partnership and engagement manager, and business development executive Graeme are passionate about the advantages partnerships bring for the people who matter most – those looking for apprenticeships and jobs.
And as Graeme explained, each partnership Optimum Skills enters into has one key factor at its heart: trust.
Graeme said:“ A partnership for us is where we have a large amount of trust between us and another company, or us and another provider, that enables us to refer people to each other.
“ And I think the big thing for us is we actually care and want to get people into work
– we want that result at the end, which is a big thing that me and Chelsea push for.
“ Getting people into work is what everyone’ s end goal should be. You can have as many partnerships as you want, but if you don’ t get the outcomes from it, they’ re not working. But our partnerships ARE working – we think about the futures for people.”
Eaglescliffe-based car parts manufacturer Nifco is just one example where partnering with Optimum Skills has benefited all parties.
Chelsea explained:“ I got in touch with their recruitment manager to tell her what we run and that we get referrals, so once they’ ve done some training with us, we could then pass them over to her for job opportunities.
“ So, we were doing that monthly, then weekly and in the end, we ended up in a partnership with them. We’ ve even got videos on each other’ s websites.
“ I was speaking to a candidate on the phone yesterday who started at Nifco last April and he’ s still there now.”
Other names Optimum has struck up partnerships with include Tesco, Ingeus, Triage, Middlesbrough Council, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, Durham Works and even Nando’ s in Bishop Auckland- a broad spectrum of trusted partners who all see the benefits of the relationship.
And as Graeme and Chelsea continue to canvas for more partnerships, you’ re likely to see them at everything from job clubs to networking events because they’ re keen to emphasise the benefits they bring.
And driving it all, says Graeme, is genuine care for the learners they’ re trying to help.
He said:“ We care passionately about our learners and don’ t judge anybody.
“ We look after the learners and see it from every point of view. We don’ t leave anybody behind and I think that’ s the difference we’ re trying to make here.
“ What I see at the moment is a lot of employers want to work with the local people in the community. They want to give something back and they’ re pretty much buying the person rather than that CV that’ s got this, that and whatever on. And that’ s what we bring to the partnerships that we establish – we’ re helpful and we can make it what they want it to be.”
For more details, visit optimumskills. co. uk or call 01325 311832.
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 7